Nevada Centennial Ranch and Farm Awards Program

Apply for the 2018 Centennial Awards

​To qualify as a Centennial Ranch or Farm, an applicant’s ranch or farm must have belonged to his or her families for at least 100 years and must be a working ranch or farm with a minimum of 160 acres or if it is less than 160 acres, it must have gross yearly sales of at least $1,000.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact Ciara Kelley at 775-353-3628 or at c.kelley@agri.nv.gov.

About

The Nevada Centennial Awards Program recognizes agricultural families who have owned and operated the same land for 100 years or more. Forty-nine families have now been inducted into the program that began in 2004.

Miller Ranch

Miller Ranch, located in Paradise Valley, Nevada, was purchased by Gerhard Miller Sr. in 1914. Gerhard and his wife, Maria Gesina Miller, took care of the 450-acre ranch. When their son, George, married Elisabeth, they leased the upper ranch, where they continued to farm and raise cattle.

Upon Gerhard and Maria’s death, their grandchildren, Paul and Fred, inherited the ranch. When Fred passed away, Paul and his wife purchased Fred’s half of the ranch and converted it into a farm. They installed a water pipe two miles up the mountain to provide irrigation to the land below. As the mountain water decreased, the underground wells provided the water used to maintain the alfalfa and grain.

Moura Ranch

Moura Ranch was founded in the Upper Valley of Lovelock, Nevada. Manuel and Maria Moreira purchased the original 80 acres of the farm in 1916. A portion of the land was dedicated to Fairview School, where their daughter, Virginia, attended. With the rest of the land, they achieved their dream of owning a farm.

Virginia married Manuel Moura and they purchased additional parcels of land for the growing operation. Virginia and Manuel’s son, Thomas, and his wife, Darlene, continued expanding the farm, adding land and livestock, to what is now known as Moura Ranch.

Currently, Thomas and Darlene’s three children maintain their agricultural legacy. Their daughter, Amy, and her husband, Chad Blanchard, as the Truckee River Federal Water Master, have an indirect role in agriculture. Their son, Mark, married Cody, and they help with her parents’ ranch, SS Cattle Company in Cambridge, Idaho. Thomas and Darlene’s eldest son, Anthony, and his wife, Lisa, handle the daily care of Moura Ranch along with their children, Daralyn and Devin, raising calves and farming alfalfa and grains.

Pursel Farms

In the 1860’s, brothers Henry O. and Morris Pursel migrated from Iowa to Nevada by wagon train. They began farming in Smith Valley, and later, Mason Valley. In 1918, Henry Melvin Pursel, son of Henry O., purchased 160 acres on MacKenzie Lane in Yerington, Nevada. The land was covered with native grasses and brush and two cottonwood trees. Henry and his wife, Rosa, built their house next to one of the two trees and added ditches, leveled land and built what would become Pursel Farms.

As the natural land was turned into farm land, the Pursels grew potatoes and alfalfa and raised cattle. A milking barn, chicken coop and potato cellar were also added to the property. Henry and Rosa’s children, Ralph, Shirley and Henry Ivy, inherited the farm after Henry’s death in 1932. Ralph and his family moved to the property after purchasing the shares of the farm from his siblings. In 1957, Ralph’s son, Melvin, and his wife, Phyllis, purchased the farm from his parents.

Today, the milking barn still stands on the property where Melvin’s son and Henry’s great-grandson, Darrell, and his wife, Suzanne, continue to farm alfalfa and raise cattle.